Improvement in oil-ejectors for oil-wells



T. B. GUNNING. OIL EJEGTOR FOR GIL WELLS.

No. 45,153. Patented Nov. 22, 1864.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

r. B. GUZNNING, or new YORK, 1v. tr.

IMPROVEMENT IN OIL-EJECTORS FOR OlL-W ELLS.

Hpcciih-aiion forming pm i ofhciiersPatcnt No. 15,l 53, duh-d Norcmherfl'l, lPltl.

To'all'whom-it may 'coiwern:

Be it known that I, T. 3, G'UNNING, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a Gas and Air Injector for Oil-Wells;

and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof,

' which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccom muying drawing, forming part of this Specification The thawing iepresents a vertical central section of my invention.

This invention relates to a new and useful ineausforej ecting or forcing oil from oil-wells, and is an improvement on the atmospheric pump recently employed for that purpose.

A represents the boreor shaft of an Artcsian well, which. extends from'the surface of the earth down to the vein of oil, and B is a tube which is fitted in the shaft and extends down to its bottom or to the oil vein. This tube 13 is encompassed by what is termed a seedbag, 0, which serves as a packing to prevent water from streams or veins above the oil vein from descending into the latter. This seed-bag is very essential, and sometimes a plurality of them are used. The oil-tube is open at its lower end, and within it there is fitted con ceutrically an air-tube, D, which extends up ward above the surface of the earth, and is com of oil equal to the ordinary flow from the well. I

The end of F, it will be seen, is formed with a double slant, the angle being about the same, but in reversedirections, and in the upper slant there is a valve, I, opening inward,

which, according to its position, has a tendeucy to remain closed by virtue of its own gravity.

H is a tube which leads from the upper part" vthrough the flapor door' G.

This flap or door H does.

of 1?", near its end, and extends down to the air-pump E, as shown clearly in the drawing. 7 I is a valve placed in the outer end of F, above the flap or door (i-.-

The gas and air tube 1), which is the eduction-pipe of the air-pump,passes through the oil-tube B at its bend above the surfaceof the earth, and extends from thence down to a suitable distance below the surface of. the oil in the tube B. The lower end ofthegas'and air tube Dis closed, and j ust abovethe lower end holes Z) are drilled obliquelyoutward and upward, said holes extending allaround the tube in rows arranged quincunx form.

I In order to insure a central or concentric fposition of the tube D within the tube B, I attach three rollers to its lower end by means of elastica-rms, as shown in red in the drawing at a..

' From the above description it will be seen that when the air-pump 1G is operated air will be forced down the tube 1'), and will pass out through the oblique holes I) at its lower part in an upward direction in the lower partof.

the oil-tube-B, the oil being forced upward thereby in the tube B and passinginto the enlarged part F thereof, fronrwhieh it escapes The enlarged part F of the oil-tube B admits of a space .6, within it above the surface of the oil, and the tube H counnunicateswith this space and conducts the gas which escapes from the oil to the air-pump h, from which it is forced down the air-tube D, (the latter being strictly a gas as well as an air tube,) and is made again subservient in raising the oil up through the tube B.

,The cause of the free flow of oil from wells without any mechanical appliances is sup posed to be mainly, if not wholly, due to the pressure of gas within them, and as this is always present in all oil-wells in greater or less quantity I can by my invention, when the gas is insuflicientin quantity or power to effect in itself or alone the result above alluded to, return it from the surface of the elevatedoil and make it again subservient in assisting the oil in its passage upward, using only so much atmospheric air as may be necessary to make 'up'any deficiency of gas.

inverted bell-,cap.

In case of an insufficiency ofgas in c air is I admitted through the valve I, for it will be understood that the pumpE is supplied with air when necessary, as well as gas fro: the space 0, and when the air-pump is in 0,. era.- tion a slight suction is produced in F, which assists the ascent of the oil in B.

I do not confine myself to any precise dimensions for tubes for the oil and the air and gas; but the tubes 13 D should be of such a relative size as to allow a sufficient space between them for the ascent of the oil.

The advantages derived from this invention are as follows: By having the air-tube D inserted'within B, as shown and described, it can be readily adjusted to any point within the latter and readily removed, none of the fixed parts requiring to be disturbed, whereas in the old plan the air-tube is inserted in the ,bore or shaft at the exterior of the tube 13. Consequently the seed-hag G is interfered with and much trouble and embarrassment are ex perienced, not only in first inserting the airtube, but also in adj nsting it afterward, should it be necessary at any time to do so.

upward in tube .15 'a bell-cap. l) may be used to effect the same end, as shown in red, the lower end'of I) being perforated or slot-ted in any suitable way to admit of the exit of the gas and air; but there are objections to this a means, as will be presently set forth.

I would further remark that the receptacle J, into which the oil is discharged from F, may be provided with a canvas cover, K, the latter being fitted over the end of F, so asto retain the gas which may escape from the oil in J and allow it to escape through the valve I into F. By this means the gas which escapes with the oil from I maybe saved and utilized with that which escapes from the oil in I For wells tubed with pipe of two (2) inches internal diameter, an injecting pipe of one (1) inch bore and a quarter in thickness will be required in most cases of deep wells. This thickness of pipe will be strong enough for wells of any depth, and more than thick enough to give the holes, if bored with proper slant, sufficient length within the iron to turn the air upward, and thus dispense with the By this plan an annular well exists between the pipes equal to a pipe of about fifteen-sixteenths of an inch bore, through which the oil will pass upward when assisted by the gas or air, or b0tl],WhiC1l,

, own weight.

diately uponthe oil, while the outer pipe takes the place of the bell-cap and keeps the current in the upward direction. plan all the power of the'gas or air acts directly upon the oil, whereas a bellcap not only interferes with the action of the air upon the oil, but also is an impediment to the latter by lessening the space forit to pass through; Therefore by my plan smaller pipes may be used, thus lessening the expense, for I do not confine my invention to any particular size or strength of the pipe, as in wells of three or four hundred feet deep lighter pipe may be used in many cases. In every well the size of the pipe must be adapted to the flow' of oil and the amount of assistance required to getit to the surface of the ground. The holes should collectively be more than equal to the area of the pipe, and; the holes in the different rows should not be over each other, but form a current of air all around the pipe. The horizontal oil -pipe must enlarge sufficiently in a vertical direction to give the oil a good descent to the tank and to give an upward direction to thepipe passing to the pump, its length, determined by the quanits door opening inward and merely shutting by its own weight. There should be a permanent opening below the oil-door about equal to the ordinary run of oi1, and the door made with joints sufficient in size and number to give exit to any possible amount of oil and gas that may want exit, the door shutting by its This oil-tube and valve, as described, is intended to economize the gas without taking any of the gas from the oil in the tank; but where convenient it can be aided by a canvas cover hung over its mouth and passing-down around the tank, in which case the oil-door may be dispensed with in some cases. When the tank is situated at a long distance from the well, a canvas, metal, or

other covering maybe placed over the tank, I the covering terminating in a point at the upper part, from which a pipe may extend to the gas opening or valve in the tube, while another pipe passes from the oil-opening (the door of which may then be left ed) to the tank. This latter pipe. might of course (if large enough) answer to carry the 'oil down to the tank, and also the gas back to the tube; but in most cases the tube will retain gas enough for the pump without assistance from that passing from the oil after it has reached the tank.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- By this 1. The employment or use ofe gas-tube or or dbor, G,.and a valve, I, and having the gas-chamber arranged with the air-pump and gas-tube H communicating with it, and all ar- 0il-tube, substantially as shown, for the purranged substantially as and for the purpose pose of admitting 0f the gas which escapes specified.

from the elevated oil being made subservient THOS. B. GUNNING. in forcing up the oil, as described. Witnesses:

2. The enlarged portion F at the upper M. M. LIVINGSTON, part of the oil-tube B, provided witha flap C. L. TOPLIFF. 

